State of Dreaming
by rapunzells
Summary: "Before the sun sets on her eighteenth birthday, she will prick her finger on the spindle of a spinning wheel and fall into a sleep like death, a sleep from which she will only awaken by the power of True Love's Kiss." Maleficent AU.
1. Chapter 1

"Yes I can protect your little town from the ogres...for a price."

The king stuttered, throwing his arms up. "But we haven't got anything!"  
Rumplestiltskin raised his eyebrows. Clasping his hands behind his back, he advanced towards Maurice and Colette. "Now I'm sure that can't be true. You are, after all, King and Queen. Surely you must have something."

"We have nothing," Colette spoke for her husband. The King stood to the side of his throne, nervously fidgeting with his shirt sleeve. "We've spent all our resources in protecting our kingdom from the Ogre Wars. You are our last hope."

Rumplestiltskin came here to name a certain price. His foresight told him of the importance of this price. His limited sight into the future did not tell him why it was important, but he knew that he had to ask this question. "What about a firstborn? Surely you'll be having a wee one sometime soon." If rumors were going to go around about him dealing for babies, they might as well be true. The fact that Maurice and Colette went to fairies first for help told him that they couldn't be the smartest rulers. Perhaps they'd consent to this deal.

Colette lifted her chin a little higher, a frown tugging at her lips. "That is a fit price for what we ask, but I must tell you. I am barren. Maurice and I will never have a child."

Rumplestiltskin let out a breath. He almost just dealt for a child. This woman wanted a baby she couldn't have, and he was considering taking away her chance at parenthood. He raised up his hands, "I apologize, Your Majesty." His foresight told him that he needed to ask for a firstborn as a price; but he didn't have to actually go through with that deal. "Perhaps with time you can give me some gold that you earn. I'm sure that price will satisfy the magic."

The King and Queen of the Marchlands eagerly accepted his offer. Naming gold as a price...Rumplestiltskin cursed himself for the sloppy move. He can make gold. He just hopes to the gods that the gold can pay the price of the magic. He expected to come here naming a baby as a price. Once he is back at his castle, he recites the spell to end the Ogre Wars' terror on the Marchlands.

Afterwards, he forgets all about the deal. He spends most of his days dealing, after all, so it's easy to lose track. Months pass without him thinking of the King and Queen of the Marchlands. Weeks go by without him thinking about the still unpaid price.

He doesn't remember the deal he made with the royalty of the Marchlands until he's spying on the fairies. He had no real reason for spying on them except that there seemed to be nothing better to do. He positioned himself in an apple-blossom tree, looking down on the fairies as they flitted about in the forest in preparation for something. When he heard them buzzing about the Marchlands and a baby, his ears perked up. With a flourish of his hands, he stilled their wings, and as they fell to the ground, paralyzed by his magic, he jumped out of the tree with finesse.

He watched his step with caution. As much as he hated fairies, he'd hate to have crushed fairy remains on the bottom of his shoe. "And just where are you going?"

Blue was the first to speak up. Surrounded in grass that almost completely covered her small body, she shouted at him. "This isn't funny, Rumplestiltskin!"

"I'm not trying to be funny." He squatted down to make eye contact with the little creature. "Now tell me where your little flock is going and I'll let you use your wings again."

She crossed her arms over her chest. From behind him, another fairy, wearing green, spoke. "We're going to the christening of the princess."

He whirled around to regard to green pixie who spoke up. "And this baby...are her parents the royal Maurice and Colette?"

"Tink..." Blue's voice cautioned the other fairy. It was all the proof he needed that the King and Queen lied to him.

"See you there!" He chimed, almost forgetting to bestow the ability to fly back upon the fairies.

He waited a few hours to arrive at the party- he'd have to arrive fashionably late. He waited until the sun set, and shades of orange and pink painted the night sky. Then he transported himself right outside the door of the Marchlands' biggest social event of the year.

Inside, he could hear the fairies performing their gift-giving ritual. He listened to them gift the child grace and beauty and lovability before he knocked on the wooden door. All music and chatter inside stopped. "Open it," he heard Maurice's voice command. Rumplestiltskin chose this moment to transport himself straight into Maurice's throne. Everybody, including King Maurice, had their backs turned on him. The crowd let out a collective sigh when the guard opened the door to reveal nobody.

"Well that was a bit of a letdown." Rumplestiltskin interrupted the calm from his perch on the throne. As the subjects whirled around to face him, he reveled in the look of fear in everyone's eyes. "Well well. What a lovely party. Even the fairies are here." Most of the fairies hovered by the door, but three fairies huddled around a cradle in the corner. "I must say I felt quite distressed at not receiving an invitation." He giggled.

Colette brushed past her husband, advancing towards Rumplestiltskin. "You're not welcome here." Her accented voice shook a little, but she kept her chin lifted.

His hand flew to his chest in mock-offense. "Oh dearie me, what an awkward situation. I'm not offended, though." He stood up, approaching the white cradle. The little princess, already possessing riches and love, napped in the white silk gown she wore. "I can see you have your reasons. To show I bear no ill will, I too shall bestow a gift on the child."

Maurice and Colette shook their heads while the fairies shouted at him to keep away. With a flick of his wrist, he trapped all the fairies inside a chest, neither seen nor heard. "She shall indeed grow in grace and beauty, loved by all who meet her."

"That's a lovely gift," the helpless Queen Colette nodded, biting her lip in worry.

Magic swirled at his fingers as he put one to his lips, silencing her. "But, before the sun sets on her eighteenth birthday, she will prick her finger on the spindle of a spinning wheel and fall into a sleep like death, a sleep from which she will only awaken by the power of True Love's Kiss. This curse will last until the end of time. No power in the realm can change it."

Hope had flickered in Maurice and Colette's eyes at the mention of a way to break the curse, but Rumplestiltskin knew better. There was no such thing as True Love. True Love's Kiss was a thing of myth. Perhaps True Love, if it existed, could be the most powerful magic of all. But even though no one has loved him in centuries, he wields the most powerful magic in the realm- there seems to be no correlation between power and love.

The King and Queen now stood as an example of why one should never lie to the the Dark One. Their child had no hope of ever waking up. Maybe he'd been a little harsh, but at least the girl would live a life of luxury for her entire adolescence. He told himself he did the right thing.


	2. Chapter 2

Once the imp left, Maurice stood next to the cradle where his daughter slept. "Belle is not safe here." He declared.

The fairies fluttered close to the cradle, looking down at the sleeping baby in worry. Blue's magic swirled around the cradle. Everyone leaned in with the hopes to see her undo the curse, but she turned back to Maurice with a look of sadness. "We must take her away from the Marchlands. It is the only way to keep her safe."

Colette bent over the cradle, running her fingers over her daughter's soft cheeks. The princess giggled in her sleep. "I didn't lie to the Dark One about my baby just to have her taken away anyway." She murmured.

Blue summoned Tink and Nova from the flock of fairies. The two inexperienced fairies huddled next to her, looking at the child. "She will be in good hands with the three of us." Tink and Nova exchanged nervous glances, but Blue went on. "In the seclusion of the forest she will never cross a spinning wheel. After her eighteenth birthday, we will bring her back to you."

Maurice and Collette eventually acquiesced to the terms, kissing their daughter goodbye with the hope that the eighteen years would go by fast.

Hidden in the forest, fairies found a quaint cottage to raise Belle. The first few days proved that parenting was more challenging than Blue initially thought. They hadn't thought of what to feed a baby with no teeth. Once they figured out how to feed and take care of her, it became slightly easier. The princess indeed grew in grace and beauty, beloved by all who met her (of course, she didn't get the chance to meet many people). As far as she knew, her peasant parents died when she was young. Banishing their wings and growing to full size, the fairies hid their magic well. Belle believed them to be her three spinster aunts. While the three of them never learned how to keep house, they felt they did a proper job raising the young princess.

As she grew older, she became more restless. The closest village rested a day's journey away on horseback. Belle yearned for adventure. The fairies struggled to keep track of her constant wanderings in the forest without using their magic. Each time she put on her green cloak to go into the forest, they cautioned her against talking to strangers. Because of their strict rules, she lacked friends, but at least she had them as companions to go home to.

She came to love books. Without any other way to pass her days, she finished books at alarming rates. The fairies always waited until she ventured far away in the woods to conjure up more books for her. She read just about anything, which was good, because it meant there was less time for her curious mind to come up with questions they couldn't answer. She used to ask about her parents and how they died, but the three of them would find ways to redirect her attention. Once she realized talking about her parents was off-limits, she asked after the world outside the cottage. She talked about her dreams to travel the world, and asked them when she could leave the cottage. They told her to be practical; peasants like themselves had no way of obtaining the money to travel even a week's journey away. They knew better, though. When she met her parents, she would have more riches than she ever dreamed of. But there were hardly any opportunities for a princess like herself to travel the world.

They enjoyed raising her; they really did. But they looked forward to her next birthday so they could finally finish this job.

"I'm almost eighteen." Belle groaned. Every year since age twelve, she tried to talk her aunts into letting her visit the village on her own. They still haven't consented to her going that far just yet, but she suspected they'd loosen their hold on her soon. Hopefully.

Aunt Blue rubbed Belle's arm in what she must have thought was a sympathetic way. "You still have a long time to go until your birthday. The world is a dangerous place. We don't want you running into strangers. Why don't you go pick some strawberries for us? We can make some jam." She shoved a wicker basket into Belle's hand, guiding her out the door. Belle glanced back at Aunt Tink and Aunt Nova, who diligently scrubbed at dishes in the sink. The three of them eagerly waved her off.

Once the door shut behind her, Belle wished she brought a book with her. The sun rested high in the sky. She felt rather stuffy in the blue dress she wore (Nova had asked her many times if she wanted a pink dress, but Belle and Aunt Blue always insisted on blue).

She slipped off her shoes, leaving the by a tree. Her aunts would have fits if they knew how often she walked through the forest without shoes, but that didn't stop Belle from doing it.

She loved her aunts. She did. But they could be so stifling at times. A day couldn't pass without them warning her about the dangers of talking to strangers. Belle dreamed of traveling the world, but they would never allow it. It broke her heart that they kept her back from going on adventures, but she tried to love them unconditionally. She knew she was lucky to have them. But living in the middle of nowhere left Belle rather bored with her life.

She watched her step as she walked through the forest. She tended to daydream during her walks. One day she had become so distracted in her thoughts she didn't realize she was wading through a small creek. Aunt Tink threw the wet dress in the wash before Aunt Blue could see.

Upon reaching her destination, Belle bent down to pick the wild strawberries. She once again became lost in her own thoughts. She used to think that by sixteen she would have moved out of the cottage, or at least made plans to leave. Yet here she is: picking strawberries for the four of them to make jam with like she did in her youth. She seemed trapped in the same old life.

Just then, Belle heard a rustling in the woods behind her. She paused, listening as the rustling continued. Out of curiosity, she stood up, taking the half-filled basket of strawberries with her. When she peaked around the large oak tree, she expected to see a deer eating eating from the grass. Instead she found a man picking from the briar patch.

Leather gloves protected his hands from the prickly branches he cut off. When Belle looked at the rest of him, she realized he wore leather _everything_. What a strange man. Even in her short sleeve dress with no shoes, the sun on Belle's back had her breaking a sweat. With the legitimate fear that this man could die of heat stroke, Belle walked over to ask the man if he needed help finding the nearest water source. Her aunts couldn't be mad at her for talking talking to a stranger if it was to help him. The man must have sensed her presence because he turned around to face her. Belle gasped when she saw his face; not because of the sparkly green texture of it, but because she realized she's seen him before.


	3. Chapter 3

Trying to cover up her rather embarrassing gasp, Belle approached the man. The branches magically disappeared from his gloved hands. He regarded her nervously, as if he wasn't used to people walking up to him. Eying the prickly branch he had been cutting off pieces from, she asked, "What are you doing?"

He waved his hands as he spoke. "I needed these for a spell I'm doing."

"Oh." Up close she could see the sparkle to his skin in more detail. In the summer sun, it glittered green and gold and gray. His skin captivated her, leaving her with the urge to touch it. "Have we met before?"

It as a silly question. She'd only met a handful of people in her life- surely she would have remembered meeting him. Yet she knew his glittery face from somewhere.

"I don't believe so." His brow furrowed in thought. Walking closer to her, he spoke again. "You're a fairy, aren't you?"

Belle crossed her arms over her chest. She may be short, but she's not _that_ short. "No I am not!"

He looked skeptical. "Are you sure, dearie? You reek of fairy magic."

Belle thought on it for a moment. "I've never even seen a fairy in my life. But I know I've seen you somewhere." Belle said, placing her strawberry-filled basket on the ground and leaning against a tree. "It was probably a dream."  
He scoffed, fidgeting with his hands in front of him. "Yes, well, the as the Dark One, I am the subject of many nightmares."

The Dark One? She should've known. He took his gardening gloves off, revealing long claw-like fingernails. Of course her aunts told her the stories of the Dark One. From an early age, they told her of how frightening he was. They always cautioned her to be home before the sun set, or the Dark One would kidnap her and sell her off in one of his deals. Belle tried to find information on him in books, but she found only vague descriptions of a scary inhuman being. Clearly the legends about him hadn't been true- he was just an ordinary man with unordinary skin. "I can't imagine being scared of you." Belle still believed she'd seen him before, though. It wouldn't be easy to confuse him with someone she'd already met. She's sure she's seen his unique features and heard his unnaturally high pitched voice before in her life.

"You'd be the first," he muttered, turning to walk away.

"No, wait!" She called after him. He paused, turning around to face her once again. Why did she tell him to wait? Belle realized she should probably say something because he was staring at her as if he expected her to say something. "I'm Belle."

He nodded, staring at her as if he was waiting for her to say something more. She felt she should ask for his name, but perhaps the Dark One had no other name. She didn't want to offend him.

Instead she asked, "Can you do any magic tricks?"  
At the word "tricks" he put his hand to his heart in mock-offense. "Magic is an art, dearie. Not some silly game." He held out his hands, a teacup appearing in each, filled with steaming tea. "All magic comes with a price, though."  
"Oh really?" Belle said, reaching out to take one of the teacups. "And what is the price for this cup of tea?"  
"Your eternal servitude on my rather large estate."  
Belle fumbled with her cup, watching in horror as it fell to the forest floor.

"That was a quip." He amended, "Not serious."

Belle smiled, "Right." A small puddle of tea surrounded the china. She bent down to retrieve it, wiping dirt off the surface. Upon closer inspection she noticed a chip in the rim of the Dark One's personal china. Standing up, she kept her eyes on the cup. "I'm so sorry, but...it's chipped." She held it out to him, hoping he couldn't see the way her hand shook. "You can hardly see it." That was a lie.

To her surprise, he simply shrugged. "It's just a cup." He exchanged cups with her, using magic to fill the chipped cup with more tea. He drank out of the chipped cup. Belle looked into the full cup of tea in her hands, wondering why he didn't at least try to use magic to fix the chip.

They finished their tea together, making occasional conversation. After finishing their tea, they found themselves sitting next to each other on the grass under the shade of the tree. With the limited number of times she's been allowed into the village, her normal conversation partners consisted of her three aunts. Conversations with the Dark One were much more intriguing than conversations with her aunts. He'd traveled all over the realms. She could only dream of the things he'd seen. His talk of Agrabah and Wonderland and the Land Without Color mesmerized Belle.

Sometime during the conversation, she completely forgot he was the Dark One. The legends about him bore no truth. When the sun began setting, she was almost sad to have to say goodbye to him. He stood up first, taking her hand to help her up.

"Meet me here tomorrow?" Belle asked. "Same time?"

"Yes," he nodded, the word seemingly falling out of his mouth quicker than he wanted it to. As he bent down to pick up her basket of strawberries, he shifted his weight on his feet. "Rumplestiltskin."

Belle cocked her head to the side. "Hm?"

"My name," he explained, "is Rumplestiltskin. I think you've earned it."

"Rumplestiltskin," Belle repeated, trying her best not to stumble over the syllables. "I like it." A half smile tugged at his lips and Belle beamed at the sight of it. "See you tomorrow, Rumplestiltskin." She turned on her heel, walking into the woods. She thought she felt his eyes on her back, but when she turned around, he was already gone. It didn't occur to Belle until she was just outside the door to her cottage that she couldn't tell her aunts a word of her time with the Dark One. It was her little secret.


	4. Chapter 4

The next day around noon, Rumplestiltskin waited at the tree for Belle. He wasn't sure why he had so quickly agreed to meet her again. Was he that desperate for companionship?

Being in her presence was the first time he'd genuinely enjoyed himself in a while.

He still couldn't figure out why she had the aura of a fairy about her. He could've sworn she'd been in contact with a fairy just moments before meeting him. He tried not to doubt that she'd been telling the truth. She said she wasn't a fairy, so he'd take her word for it.

He waited all of three minutes fearing she wouldn't show up, but eventually he saw her approaching him. She wore another blue dress. The color brought out the blue in her eyes, not that he took particular notice.

"Hi," he greeted her.

"So I've been wondering," skipping right over a greeting, she leaned her back against the tree he stood next to. "Since you have all these powers, can you magically transport yourself places, or is the price of magic on that too high?"

He clasped his hands together in front of him. "If there was any price to something as small as that, it would be inconsequential. I use magic for small things like that quite often." More often than he would like to admit, actually.

She nodded, intrigued, and he continued. "We can...go somewhere, if you'd like. The village perhaps."

"Only if you want to," She replied, though he could tell her eyes lit up at the suggestion. He remembered how highly she'd talked of the bookshop there yesterday.

He was about to say yes, of course he'd want to, but instead he asked, "Are you sure you want to go with me?"

She smiled, resting her hand on his arm, "I'd love to."  
He couldn't say no to that, so he let her keep her hand on his arm as he transported them to the outskirts of the village. He pulled his jacket collar tighter around his face. People didn't exactly like seeing the Dark One strolling through their shops. Belle kept her grip on his arm, leading him to and from shops.

They spent the most amount of time in the bookshop. She pointed out all the books she'd read, her eyes lighting up as she described the knowledge she'd acquired from each one. She even showed him a book written on the Dark One, pointing out and snickering at all the ridiculous notions people had of him. Since he stayed in the shadows, nobody ever knew what he was up to. Some insisted that he had been born with the scaly skin, harnessing the darkness for as long as it existed. After Belle's inquiry as to the truth of that statement, he assured her that it was simply a curse placed on him later in his life. He didn't tell her of the events leading up to him killing the previous Dark One, but she seemed content to know that he had once been an ordinary man.

He bought an atlas for Belle as a gift, although she told him she didn't need him to spend his money on her. He insisted she let him buy it. What else was he supposed to do with his abundance of golden straw?

As they left the bookshop arm in arm, Belle gasped, pulling him into the nearest alley. Stunned, he whispered, "Want to tell me what that was all about?"

Eyes wide, she peaked her head around the corner, quickly retreating. "My Aunt Blue is here. I told her I would be spending my day alone in the forest. She's paranoid about me talking to strangers."

He nodded, leaning against the brick wall behind him. "Did you know she would be here?"

She shook her head, and he tried not to notice the way she bit her lip. "The journey from our cottage takes a day. She usually tells me when she comes out here. It's strange."

Magic swirled at his fingertips. "I can bring us back to the forest, if you'd like."

Taking his arm once again, she agreed. When they appeared in the forest she stumbled a little, not used to the feeling of magic. "Sorry about that," she sighed. "I love my three aunts, but they would likely die of shock if they saw me in the village with you."

He leaned against the tree. "You know, I was raised by my three aunts as well." He wasn't sure what had prompted him to share this with her. Only two other people knew about this. "They're the ones who taught me to spin."

"Is that where you learned to spin straw into gold?"  
"No," He hesitated on sharing with her, but something in him trusted her. "I didn't come in contact with magic until I was much older with a son of my own."

A look of surprise washed over her features for a moment. "A son? What happened to him?"

"That's a story for another day." Although he doubted she'd stick around long enough for him to tell it to her.

Instead he walked her back to her cottage in comfortable silence. When they were in view of her home, she paused to look up into his eyes. "Thank you for today, Rumple." He barely had a moment to notice her new nickname for him when she stood on her tiptoes, placing a kiss on the rough skin of his cheek. The feeling of her soft lips against his skin left him feeling both strength and weakness. He felt that with Belle by his side, he could finally be happy; but at the same time, he felt as if her simple kiss threatened to take away the dark magic inside of him. The latter thought utterly terrified him.

She pulled back, biting her lip again. He searched her eyes for signs of repulsion. He even considered that this whole thing had been a trick, but the only thing she had gained today was the atlas he bought her at the bookshop, which she had insisted he needn't spend his money on. Instead, her eyes gazed up at him with sincerity, and he was sure there was a goofy grin on his face from the tenderness of the kiss.

He stammered out a "You're welcome" for her thanks, pausing out of eyesight from the cottage. He watched from the shadows as she made the final steps inside, glancing back at him to wave goodbye before entering. They had plans to meet up again tomorrow, and while he enjoyed their time together, he couldn't stop himself from wondering when he would mess it all up.


	5. Chapter 5

Belle sat on the large dining table in the Great Hall of the Dark Castle. It had taken a few weeks for him to invite her to his home. The only other people who visited him here came seeking his magic. He wasn't used to someone simply wanting to be with him. She'd only just arrived minutes ago, but apparently she already felt at home. Rumplestiltskin didn't mind. Bringing tea for both of them, he sat next to her, just barely brushing her shoulder with his. Belle asked him questions of his travels, and he did his best to answer. Sure he'd been to a few realms, but he almost always went on deals. He didn't pay much attention to the people or food or anything else Belle asked him about. She was captivated, though, listening to him tell her of all the lands he'd traveled.

"Your life sounds incredible." She sighed. When he simply shrugged she poked him in the ribs. "No, really. I'd love to go with you on one of your trips."

He shook his head. "I'm not good company."

"Of course you are," she countered, "I enjoy my time with you. I could spend a lifetime with you and never grow bored."

She couldn't know what she was talking about. "You wouldn't want any life I could give you."

She narrowed her eyes. "I think that's for me to decide."

After a few weeks of spending their days together, he was always surprised that she genuinely enjoyed his company. They were basically courting, though neither of them had given voice to that thought.

"I've never seen one of those before," she murmured, gesturing towards his spinning wheel.

Without saying anything more, she slid from the table, walking towards it. Confused by her quick transition, he followed suit.

Her eyes locked onto the spindle instantly. Her face changed, and she continued her walk to the spinning wheel slowly, as if in a trance. He eyed her curiously. "Belle?" Showing no sign that she'd heard him, she walked past him, continuing in her direction toward the spinning wheel. When her right hand reached out for the sharp needle, something in him snapped. _Before the sun sets on her eighteenth birthday, she will prick her finger on the spindle of a spinning wheel and fall into a sleep like death._ Rumplestiltskin gasped- it couldn't be. Could fate really be playing him such a mean trick?

He grabbed her by the waist from behind, whirling her around so that her right hand remained raised midair. She'd been seconds away from pricking her finger. He panted, struggling for breath. He'd cursed her to do this. He just met her and he already ruined her life. He hadn't thought about the King and Queen of the Marchlands in years. At the time, cursing their child seemed a logical approach to warn others never to lie to the Dark One. He figured she would grow up comfortably in the palace for eighteen years, not in a cottage in the woods yearning for something more. Gods, he was so stupid.

Realizing his hands still lay on the curve of her waist, he released her. "You must go," he blurted out. She tried to turn around to face him, but he couldn't risk her looking at the spinning wheel again. Instead he placed his hand on the small of her back, briskly leading her out of the Great Hall. "I have deals to make. I don't think it's wise if you come here again."

"What do you mean?" Now that they stood in the entranceway of his castle, out of eyesight of the spinning wheel, he let her turn around. She put her hands on her hips, her voice rising. "Why can't I come here again?"

"I have more important things," he snarled, "to be doing than to entertain a bored peasant."

Hurt only crossed her features for a moment. Her eyes seemed to see right through him. Her beautiful blue eyes that he would never have the pleasure of seeing for the rest of his immortal life. "You're lying."  
"Am I?"

"I don't know what happened back there, but one minute everything is great and the next you hate me and you're shoving me out your front door."

"I could never hate you." His voice turned serious. He closed his eyes for a moment, taking a breath. "But you will hate me." With a wave of his hand, the doors shut. The Dark Castle was empty. It was as if she'd never been there.

He waited until the dark of the night before transporting himself to the kitchen of her small cottage. He could sense the magic of the fairies. On his first day meeting her, he'd been detecting the magic of those fairies who went to bestow gifts upon Belle. He should've known sooner.

The magic in the air was so thick he figured Belle must have grown accustomed to it. Rumplestiltskin quietly took the stairs up to the second floor. The fairies lived in the first room. With a wave of his fingers, he ensured nobody in the house would wake until dawn.

He moved onto the next room. Belle's room. The door creaked as he pushed it open, and he cursed himself for not thinking to magic himself in there. Belle's small room had books resting against nearly every surface. She slept under a thick quilt, her chest gently rising and falling. She looked so serene Rumple almost forgot what he came here for. He could admire her beauty for ages, but this would be the last time he would see her. After today, he couldn't let her see him again. She'd know of her true identity soon enough anyway and she'd be swept up in the excitement of a royal life.

"I revoke the curse," he whispered into the night, "let it be known. I revoke the curse; let it be known." Magic swirled from her sleeping body. The red smoke of the curse seemed so close to leaving her, but it held onto her sleeping form. Louder, he shouted, "I revoke my curse! Let it be no more!" Desperately, he kept repeating, "let it be no more," but the curse clung to her. Eventually the red smoke of the curse settled itself back in her, unbroken. The force of the magic caused him to stumble back.

He remembered the foolish words he'd spoken when he cursed her as an innocent baby. _This curse will last until the end of time. No power in the realm can change it._ No magic he could conjure would break this foolish curse. In a few day's time, she would be lost forever. Because of him.


End file.
